Legend Wars
by Kereea
Summary: Pitch has a new plan, and is getting non-guardian spirits to aid him in it. So of course the guardians will to do the same thing…As-many-personifications-of-stuff-I-could-get-in-a-fic! No pairings.
1. Another Call

A/N: Okay, while this story will have a ton, ton, of OC's, to fill in for various Holidays, there are NO PAIRINGS. The main relationships are the friendships, and the brotherly relationship developing between Jack and Bunny.

.o.o.o

Chapter 1: Another Call

.o.o.o.

Bunnymund continued inspecting the coloring plants when a cold breeze blew through his Warren. He waved to one of the egg guards, "Tell the kid to stop snoring."

All guardians had their little times off—Toothiana took a day every three months so she didn't go mad, North liked to explore the world in July, Bunny himself tended to nap for part of April, and Sandy…well, actually he never _seemed_ to take time off, but the Pooka was sure he did sometimes.

Jack, it turned out, took really long naps around both equinoxes, when nowhere on Earth was _quite_ cold enough for a snow day other than the poles. Not that it would stop him when Easter Sunday was near an equinox, of course, but other than that he tended to nap.

Jack had mentioned it offhandedly once or twice, but Bunnymund didn't know just what the boy meant until the September after they beat Pitch. Late in the month, Jack had just come right on down, found a nice rock, and flopped down to sleep. Bunny didn't even know how he was sleeping on a rock—he was a rabbit and he couldn't sleep on a rock that easily…he decided to tell North to make the kid a bed for Christmas.

Still, a sleeping Jack wasn't _too_ much trouble. The rock had iced over, of course, but unless the kid started snoring, Bunny would probably forget he was there.

He put some extra water on the turquoises, they were looking too dry…

"Ah-CHOO! Oh, man sorry, why did you do that?"

Bunny rolled his eyes and jogged back towards Jack's little rock, finding the sprite trying to scrape ice off the guard. "Oi, what did you do?"

"He tried to wake me up by tickling my nose and I sneezed," Jack said. "Bad plan." He yawned. "So, what is it?"

"You were snoring again."

"Oh." Jack rubbed his eyes, "Sorry. I'll try not to do that…" He curled back up on the rock and around his staff, and was out in minutes.

It was kind of weird, seeing the Guardian of Fun so still. Then again, all that fun probably tuckered him out over the months…

.o.o.o.

"Wake up! Come on, wake up mate!"

Jack grumbled as he was shaken awake. "Come on, just another day or two…"

"Can't," Bunny told him. "Tooth sent out a call—we need to head over to her place. Here." He shoved a clay mug of juice at Jack. "Carrot juice. Wakes you right up."

Jack shifted into a seated position, staff on his lap and took the drink, "So, what is it?"

"Tooth got an important message from a pal of hers," Bunny said. "Baba Yaga."

"Witch with the chicken leg house?"

"Yep," Bunny said. "…How do you know that?"

"Planned on freezing the legs together once," Jack said, finishing off his drink. "But I got too distracted just staring at the thing and forgot to."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Bunny said, "All right then, here we go." He taped his foot on the ground and he and Jack dropped into the tunnel.

"I ever tell you this is like a surfing roller coaster?" Jack laughed, riding behind Bunny on an ice trail.

"Only every time you use them, mate," Bunny said,

"Great, because they are awesome!" Jack whooped as they came out in Toothiana's kingdom. "Between this and the sleigh you guys need to stop making the North Wind look lame!"

"Oh please! I've seem you flying around up there having the time of your life," Bunny said.

"Well, since you said that and I don't feel like walking…" Jack said with a grin, before grabbing Bunny and summoning the wind to take them right to the palace.

"You put me down right now, Frostbite!" Bunny snapped. "I do not do aerial, do you hear me! Oh, oh this is worse than the sleigh, so much-"

"We're on the ground now," Jack said.

"…Frostbite, you're awful."

"So are you, sometimes, Kangaroo."

"Oh, you're here!" Toothiana flew over. "Great, North and Sandy are on their way too. This is…I don't even know what to say! Baba Yaga never, ever asks for help and then this—oh my goodness, I mean, I'm the person she knows the best in this community and she won't even ask me for help, usually!"

"How do you even know her?" Jack asked. "I mean, Tooth Fairy and creepy witch don't really…fit."

"Well, see, you know all the legends saying she eats kids? Totally untrue—she took them away from bad families and tried to put them with good ones. You know, pre-adoption services world—why are you taking three quarters? Oh, sports accident, say no more—anyway sometimes it took her awhile and well, sometimes the kids lost their teeth while they were with her and that's how we kept meeting way back when. We have some tea now and again if I have downtime—no, no, don't go yet, I think Louis moved!" she called to one of her fairies. "Recheck his address!"

"…Okay then," Jack said. "Whoa, whoa, hey, Babytooth, good to see you too!"

The little fairy grinned at him and pecked his cheek before heading back for a quarter and flying off.

"Remember, Paris France and Paris Texas are different!" Tooth called after her. "Seriously, the cities with similar names these days. I need to ask North how he got the Yetis and Elves to understand zip codes…North, Sandy! You're here!"

"Of course we are!" North said. "Oh, Bunny, you found Jack quickly!"

"Actually I was napping in the Warren," Jack said. "So it wasn't so much finding me as waking me up."

"Ah, I see!" North said.

An image of a letter appeared over Sandy's head.

"Oh, right, the message," Tooth said, taking a small crystal from one of her fairies. "Here."

A voice came from the crystal, "Toothiana, this is Baba Yaga. I thought you said you'd handled Pitch with your Guardian friends , but Spooky is seeing signs of him being rather…shall we say…active. This rather displeases me, as you know what him being active does to Spooky. There's also the fact that either he has gained new abilities, or has an accomplice, as Spooky and Coyote were investigating something in the United States that reeked of Pitch but was not within his abilities to have done. If you think you can be bothered, come to the Iron Forest. If not, I will simply deal with him myself."

"How strong is Baba Yaga?" Jack asked.

"Strong, but she could never take on Pitch one on one," Bunny said. "She's just really territorial. She even gets on North if he goes in the Iron Forest and it's not Christmas Eve."

"And she's protective of Spooky," Tooth said.

"Who?" Jack asked.

"Her granddaughter, she is Spirit of Halloween. You can see where the clashing with Pitch comes in," North said. "We should investigate. Pitch should have been licking his wounds for a decade at least! Not a few months!"

"So…who would team up with Pitch, anyway?" Jack asked.

"Well, he tried to get you, right?" Bunny asked. "And for all your being an annoying blighter, you're still a good enough person not to fall for it. There's probably other spirits that aren't."

Sandy nodded, some images flashing above his head.

"Right, spirits who get less recognition or are rivals," Tooth said. "Oh no, please don't be the Monkey King…"

"We locked him up!" North said, patting Tooth on the shoulder.

"Locks can be picked," Bunny replied. Jack rapped him on the head with his staff. "Hey!"

"Dude, you're freaking her out," Jack hissed, nodding at Tooth's pale expression.

"Oh, my bad, Tooth," Bunny said. "Sorry."

"Come! We shall take the sleigh!" North said.

"Oh no, I'm not taking that crazy sleigh ever again!" Bunny said.

Jack tapped the ground, making a small ice trail. "Really?" He pushed Bunny, sending the Pooka careening into the sleigh. "Awesome! Backseats!" He jumped in next to Bunny.

"North, can I please smack our youngest member?" bunny asked through clenched teeth.

"Of course not! That is most effective way of getting you into sleigh I have ever seen!" North laughed.

"Frsotbite, you are going to get it once I have the time."

"Aw, you know you love me," Jack said as the sleigh took off.

"I think Baba Yaga's in the eastern part of the forest this time of year," Tooth told North.

"You heard her boys!" north told the reindeer. "Yah!"

"I hate you so much right now," Bunny said, shutting his eyes.

"Think of it as a roller coaster," Jack said. "See—Sandy has the right idea!"

"You and Sandy are made to fly!" Bunny retorted.

"Don't make me come back there!" Tooth warned.

"Yes ma'am," Jack and Bunny sighed as Sandy wagged a finger at them.

"Whoa," Jack said. "You know, this place looks wicked awesome from above…"

Bunny glanced over the side, "More like downright creepy. No wonder Baba Yaga likes it. All the twisty trees and sharp rocks…"

"Well, here we are," North said as the sleigh landed. "Baba Yaga's land—the Iron Forest."

.o.o.o.

A/N: What will Baba Yaga reveal? Stay tuned!


	2. The Meeting in the Iron Forest

A/N: !0 follows, 3 favs and...1 review?. At least .Salute loves me... *insert Sandy wagging finger here at others*. Please? Anyways, here's where almost all of the personifications on the guardian's side show up! See end note for extra details.

.o.o.o.

Chapter 2: The Meeting in the Iron Forest

.o.o.o.

"What took so long?"

Jack turned—wait, _this_ was the famously feared Witch of the Iron Forest? A granny shorter than Tooth with a pointed cap on?

"Well, we had to see your message first, I had to delegate to the Yetis before I left, etcetera," North said.

"I see," the witch said, and Jack flinched at her sharpened teeth. "Well, you took your sweet time, when Pitch is causing mischief. Perhaps little Jack Frost has an idea for this time as well?"

"Wait, you know who I am?" Jack asked.

"I am a Russian witch who lives in a very cold forest. How was I supposed to miss you?" she asked. "You think I don't know about the time you thought about freezing my house?"

"Uh…" Jack said. "Well, we've never, met, per say…"

"I am not a people person," Baba Yaga replied. "Sadly for me, Spooky is."

"How's she doing?" Tooth asked. "If Pitch is involved…well, they're kind of opposed on the whole meaning of fear thing and I know that one time in the early eighties he swore revenge and such when she told him to go away by quoting that 'Haunted Mansion' thing."

"Wait, wait, wait," Jack said as Baba Yaga led them into the woods. "I get that this Spooky girl is your granddaughter but…what does she _do_?"

"Spirit of Halloween, All Hallows Eve, fear for enjoyment, and so on," Baba Yaga said. "Naturally Pitch using fear for pain annoys her. Thus _I_ am annoyed that you all apparently were not thorough enough in dealing with him."

"I keep telling you, we cannot get rid of the Boogeyman, too many believe in him and he will come back every time," North said.

"Then make him understand his place," the witch replied. "Better, trick him to come here. I am strongest in these woods, I could handle a measly boogeyman."

"Yeah, he wouldn't fall for that, for one, and two…how many people believe in you again?" Bunny asked.

"Name a witch of legend who _isn't_ me," Baba Yaga said.

"Morgana Le Fey," Bunny said dryly.

"I said a _witch_, not a plotting pain in the neck," Baba Yaga said. "I don't have all day, rabbit."

"I'm still confused…if Spooky is a fear spirit too, why doesn't _she_ fight Pitch?" Jack asked North.

"Spooky is not…fighting inclined, I should say," North said. "Pitch is the terror that lurks in the dark that grips your soul. Spooky is the feeling you have when going through a haunted house that makes you excited. She is not so much _fear_ as say…a good scare."

"As well as Pitch having grown to become a nightmare-maker," Baba Yaga said. "Spooky just teleports and makes creepy illusions. And inspires the better horror films out there."

A picture of a scraggly-haired man floated in grains above Sandy's head, followed by some odd, cartoonish figures.

"Actually, I think he inspired her and she decided to inspire back. More modern spirits are odd like that," Baba Yaga said. "Do not even get me started on what I hear Coyote does these days…I knew he went modern but what Spooky and Valentina tell me…did you know he makes sure every modern media portrayal of him is to his liking? He camped out in some 'Greg' man's studio for weeks a decade ago! Ah, here we are."

"Yup. Just as weird looking as I remember," Jack said as the house crouched down to let them inside.

"Do not take my hospitality lightly, imp," Baba Yaga said. "Spooky! Valentina! They're here!"

A girl with black pigtails popped her head out of a doorway, "One, sec, Babushka—ee! The Easter Bunny!"

She ran out, bounding up and down in front of the Guardians. "And Jack Frost and Toothiana and the Sandman and Santa! _Awesome_!"

"She get into the candy corn again?" Tooth asked.

"Apparently," Baba Yaga replied. "Spooky, calm down! Give them your—where is Valentina?"

"I know, Barney," a winged girl said, coming into the room. She was talking to a crystal ball. "Look, the guardians are here right now, maybe you should stop by-"

"Barney the Dinosaur is _real_?" Jack asked Bunny.

"That's Barney the _Banshee_, ye right bastard!" came from within the crystal. "Who said that? I'm coming over to give them what for!"

"Oh boy," the winged girl said, putting the ball into a pouch on her pink quiver. "Spooky, did you tell them?"

"She was having a moment," Baba Yaga said.

The black haired girl huffed, the pout making her look even younger. "_Thanks_, Babushka."

"Any time, Spooky," Baba Yaga said. "Now! To business!"

"Right, well, Coyote and I were running around the woods in the Rockies—you know, the big mountains in America—because he thought something felt off and I was in Denver looking at this haunted house someone was designing for October and anyway he asked me to head with him," Spooky said, "We felt something…Pitch-ish. But also not Pitch-ish."

"Pitch-ish?" Bunny asked.

"I can tell. I think it has to do with being the Spirit of Halloween," Spooky said, starting to hover slightly. "Anyway, we remembered what sort of stuff you all did in the spring against Pitch and what he can do now, and some of the stuff we found—it was in this little mountain town, nice place really—definitely looked like it could be caused by the nightmares, but other stuff…not really Pitch-ish."

"Okay, for the sake of staying coherent…what wasn't 'Pitch-ish'?" Bunny asked.

"Jokes, but mean ones," Spooky said. "Pitch wouldn't even have a _bad_ sense of humor if it bit him in the shadow. He's too morose and junk. _So_ we think it had to be someone else!"

"Mean…jokes?" Tooth asked worriedly.

"You think it is the Monkey King?" Baba Yaga asked.

"How many of the jokes ended in physical pain?" Tooth asked Spooky.

"Tons! That or really, really bad humiliation," Spooky said.

"Monkey King," Tooth sighed.

"Who's the Monkey king?" Jack asked.

"I never thought _I'd_ be telling someone to get out more," Baba Yaga huffed, summoning a cup of tea.

"He's an evil maharaja that was transformed into a monkey by my mother's people for trying to kill a mystical animal," Tooth said. "He therefore really, really doesn't like me."

"Hey, last time you took one of my swords and gave him what for!" North said, clapping her on the shoulder. "And you can do it again, if we must!"

"I mean, I can see why the Monkey King would hang out with Pitch, trust me, I can," Valentina said. "But what about that stuff you and I saw in Paris?"

"Paris?" North asked.

"Spooky was helping my gather affection for my arrows," Valentina said. "We thought we saw a nightmare, but then it vanished kind of…weirdly."

"As in, not the way the Sandman's sand vanishes," Spooky said. "I mean, it's our only comparison, no offense sir."

Sandy waved gently to let her know it was okay.

"So, we should investigate both spots then," North said. "Bunny, you hang around Coyote now and then, right? Can you get a hold of him?"

"Sure," Bunny said, pulling out an egg and writing a message on it. "When, where, and who?"

"Since it involved the Monkey King, I'd better go to the States," Tooth said.

"I call Paris, the Rockies aren't _quite_ cold enough for me yet, but I can probably get a night breeze going right in France," Jack said.

"I'll keep an eye on Frostbite, so North, you head stateside too," Bunny said, dropping the egg down a hole.

"Sandy, you can keep the dreams going and an eye out for Pitch, yes?" North asked. Sandy saluted.

"What about us?" Valentina said. "If Pitch is planning something, I want to shoot him!"

"…With love arrows?" Jack asked.

"_Infatuation_ arrows, and _no_, I have normal ones," Valentina said, flipping her blonde braid back. "I'll go Spartan on the jerk!"

"I'm coming too!" Spooky said. "I'm the one who notices if something Pitch-ish is going on!"

"_Where's the bastard who called me a dinosaur_!"

"Hi Barney!" Spooky said, running over and hugging a longhaired young man in a robe. "Oh! You can go to the states and help look for the Monkey King!"

"What?" Barney asked. "Spooky, I'm a bit busy! The Will O' Wisp Corps don't run themselves, lass!"

"Please?" Spooky begged.

"Please _knock_ next time," Baba Yaga huffed.

"First ye point me to the idiot who called me a dinosaur!" Barney demanded. "I'll teach him to mock Barnaby Brady, Banshee and Head of the Will O' Wisp Core for nigh on seven hundred years!"

Jack quietly stepped behind Bunny and North.

"You have to admit, if you hadn't started going by 'Barney' two hundred years ago, we wouldn't have this problem," Valentina said. "I mean, I know I heard you humming his theme song a couple summers back…"

"Do not speak of him!" Barney warned. "I used the name first, and don't ye forget it!"

"Anyway, you're going to the states with Santa and the Tooth Fairy to meet up with Coyote!" Spooky said. "Have fun!"

Barney spotted Jack behind Bunny, "Frost! It was _ye_, wasn't it, ye blizzard throwing-"

"Let's go!" Bunny said, tapping the floor. Spooky and Valentina dropped after him as Barney yelled for Jack to come back "like a man!"

As the landed in the Warren, Valentina tapped Jack on the shoulder, "Little tip, hun—do _not_ mention the purple dinosaur."

"Noted," Jack said. "You know, doesn't folklore say banshees are girls?"

"Don't mention that either," Spooky said. "So, which way to Paris?"

"This way," Bunny said. "Jack, try not to make these spirits want your head too, all right?"

"Right…we're cool, right ladies?" Jack asked.

"I'm not a lady, I'm a girl!" Spooky said. "Ladies don't wear combat boots!" She pointed at her feet. "Babushka is very strict about proper footwear for wandering around!"

"Excuse the tomboy," Valentina said. "There've been some…issues. Internet forums, don't get me started with what she finds when she's poking around for new ghost stories…anyway, we saw the Nightmare near that glass pyramid thing. The one outside the big museum."

"Okay, there's a tunnel by the Louvre this way," Bunny said. Great, as if Jack wasn't enough he had a chatty cupid and a possibly-crazy preteen.

If he hadn't known the Groundhog would be stateside right now, he'd have gone the other way…

"So, you guys heard any good ghost stories lately?" Spooky asked. "I found about about this great one involving a rusty horseshoe…"

"Sounds cool!" Jack said. "How's it go?"

That was it—after this craziness, Bunny was _hibernating_.

.o.o.o.

A/N: For those wondering, Spooky is physically about 13, Barney is a bit older than Jack, and Valentina is a bit older than Barney (actual ages: Spooky's arund 120, Barney's around 730, and Val's will come in later as a plot point). Also, while there are no pairings, Valentina might think there are due to being Cupid, and of course you're allowed to imagine any (like Jackrabbit) if you want.

Babushka is phonetic Russian for "grandma".

Reviews are loved!


	3. The Searches

A/N: The searches begin! Who is working with Pitch? What will our heroes find? Let's see!

.o.o.o.

Chapter 3: The Searches

.o.o.o.

"So, since Jack looks human, he can ask for directions," Bunny said as they appeared near the Louvre.

"Um, yeah, I don't really speak French well," Jack said. "Sandy and North have me working on learning extra languages but…yeah."

"Well, you and I are the visible ones, and you're the one who's—where's Cupid?" Bunny asked Spooky.

"Asking for directions," the girl replied.

"Wait—she's visible?" Jack asked.

"City of _love_?" Spooky asked dryly. "Hello?"

"We need to go two blocks east!" Valentina said, flying over. "Such a cute couple…"

"All right, doesn't look too crowded," Bunny said.

"It's closed," Valentina said. "So we need to watch out for the security systems."

"Frostbite, no alarm clock repeats," Bunny warned.

"Yes, Kangaroo," Jack sighed.

.o.o.o.

"Coyote! It has been too long!"

"North, you're crushing me!" the other man said. "Hello Toothiana, Barney."

"Coyote," Tooth said, some of her fairies fluttering around his head. "Still flossing?"

"You'll find my canines are as good as ever," Coyote replied. "Barney?"

"Yeah, still not over the time ye convinced those wolves to chase me," Barney said.

"It was two hundred years ago and your Wisps had set my tail on fire," Coyote said. "Come on, town's this way."

"So…you think it was the Monkey King too?" Tooth asked.

"Smelled like him, anyway," Coyote replied. "Been hanging around disguised as a lovable stray to look for more information…"

"Have you seen him?" Tooth asked.

"No, but he's still around," Coyote said. "I can feel it."

.o.o.o.

"So the nightmare was just standing on top of the pyramid?" Bunny asked.

"Yeah, right here," Valentina said, fluttering above the tip. "And it kind of…faded out, I guess, instead of the swirly thing Sandman's sand does."

"Pitch's sand vanishes the same way," Bunny said. "Jack, you see anything?"

"Nope!" Jack called from where he was drifting above the Louvre.

"Alright, Spooky," Bunny said, getting the girl's attention. "Was there anything not Pitch-like here?"

"Just the way the nightmare vanished," Spooky said. "I mean, we weren't super close or anything, but we did see that it vanished weird."

"That has been established," Bunny said. "…Did it feel like it was gone?"

"What?" Spooky asked, trying to peer down inside the pyramid. "…Well…I really don't feel them that much. V! Come here!"

"What?" Valentina said, flying down.

"Did you feel the nightmare at all before it vanished?" Bunny asked.

"Yeah, the creepy, hateful thing. Erg," Valentina huffed.

"V, after it vanished, could you still feel it?" Spooky asked.

"I…I don't know," Valentina said. "Maybe. Why?"

"Because maybe it hadn't left just then," Bunny said. "Maybe someone just hid it from you."

"Hey, Cupid!" Jack called. "That lightshow a normal Paris thing?"

"Lightshow?" Valentina asked, flying up. "What lightshow?"

.o.o.o.

"He's definitely been here recently," Tooth said. "I can just feel it."

"What do ye mean?" Barney asked, pulling his red hair back into a ponytail. "Is it like how Spooky knows Pitch has been around?"

"So, how do you know Spooky?" North asked.

"Samhian was the precursor to Halloween, ye know," Barney said. "I remember when that got going, so I had to make sure any Halloween spirit did the job right!"

"No, but it's just a creepy sense," Tooth said. "Like when you know you're being watched…"

Coyote turned into his namesake and sniffed around. He jerked his head to the left.

"Time to see what's what?" Barney asked.

"Got that right," Tooth said, taking one of North's swords. "Coyote, lead the way."

Coyote trotted quickly, with Tooth and Barney flying behind him and North jogging at the rear. Suddenly Coyote stopped dead and turned back into a human, flinging his arms out to stop Tooth and Barney. "Tripwires."

"Thin things," Barney said. "Good thing ye saw them…"

"Definitely the Monkey King," Tooth growled.

"And what's so bad about it being me?" Tooth and North turned, catching a flicker of someone darting into an alley.

"Something's not right…" Coyote said. "He should know he can't take all of us…"

"Well, that's why he's not alone." A figure on a rooftop cast a shadow over the group.

"Pitch," North spat.

.o.o.o.

"So, it looks like the humans can't see it," Jack said as he and Valentina flew towards the odd lights.

"So this is to get our attention…which means it's totally a trap," Valentina sighed.

"Yeah, but we've got to check anyway," Jack said. They landed on a roof, and Bunny and Spooky came out of a rabbit hole not a second later.

"Looks like of like a warm-color version of the Northern Lights," Bunny commented.

"It has to be supernatural in origin. Spooky, do you know any other illusion makers?" Valentina asked.

"Well, no, not personally," Spooky said. "I guess some of Barney's wisps can make really minor ones, and maybe some random sprites, but this seems way too big."

"You bet it is."

"You!" Bunny said, staring at the large groundhog. "What are you doing here?"

"It's _Gary_, you know," the Groundhog said irritably. "Just came for a looksee, you know how much I like this town."

"Why do I seriously doubt that?" Bunny asked.

"Why? It's an interesting work. Yours, miss Halloween?" Gary asked.

"No," Spooky said.

"I think I know whose it is," Jack said, looking at the roof. He whipped his staff up and fired a shot of ice just past Gary.

The ice was dodged by a woman who seemed to appear out of thin air.

"Forgot to hide your shadow from the lightshow too," Jack said.

"I see," the woman said.

"What's this about, Gary?" Bunny demanded. "And you, you were the one who hid the nightmare, weren't you?"

"Yes," the woman said.

"Why are you working for Pitch?" Jack demanded.

"And why shouldn't I shoot you?" Valentina added, notching an arrow.

"Hm, why…Jack Frost wants to know why…How about because you dropped a foot of snow all over the USA on my day!" Gary shouted.

"Your day, your day….Bunny, when's his day again?" Jack asked.

"February," Bunny replied.

"Okay, see, that _is_ in my jurisdiction! I can so drop snow then! Bunny can tell you, some years I ice things through Easter!" Jack said.

"This is true," Bunny agreed. "So, Gary…what are you doing here?"

"With a weird lady," Spooky added.

"Spooky, don't be rude!" said Valentina. "Miss, name? She's going to keep calling you 'weird lady' otherwise."

"I am Mirage," the woman said. "And _you_ are in for far more than you realize."

.o.o.o.

A/N: Next time-two big battles! Two new faces! And the mystery continues...

Also, the reason Bunny and Jack refer to Valentina as Cupid is the same reason Jack originally called North "Santa"-if spirits don't know each other well enough, they'll go for titles (except in cases of people like Jack, who have their name as their title, or Spooky, who doesn't have an official title).


	4. The First Battles

A/N: sorry for the delay, working stuff out (I think the 4 chapters after this will be condensed into to and then the ones after that will stay the same, it's complicated but I just don't want a ton of filler stuff to keep up chapter length). It'll be about a week until the next update because DISNEY! But chapter five should be done by then. Thanks for reading!

.o.o.o.

Chapter 4: The First Battles

"Okay, clearly a threat," Jack said, moving his staff into a more offensive position.

"Way ahead of you," Valentina said, notching an arrow.

"Looks like you can't count," Bunny added, drawing a boomerang as Spooky cracked her knuckles.

"Funny; but _you_ can't see," Mirage said, and the whole world went hazy.

.o.o.o.

Coyote moved first, throwing knives from inside his coat at Pitch. Tooth took off after the Monkey King while North helped Coyote and Barney put a finger to his head.

"Calling Wisp Corps. All free wisps to me, _now!_"

Pitch's nightmares were unsure what to do with North and Coyote, as both were too intent on fighting Pitch to be afraid. One charged at Barney, who smirked as several incoming wisps, bright blue and burning hot, rammed into the horse and turned it to ash. "Ye know, just because me and the boys are _normally_ nice doesn't mean we can't hurt ye."

Meanwhile, Tooth cornered the Monkey King in an alley, "It's over."

The Monkey King laughed, "Just getting started, actually—oof!"

"What to bet?" Tooth asked, re-drawing her sword after her punch.

.o.o.o.

"Okay, it is never good when you can't see an enemy," Valentina said.

"Spooky, can you disrupt the illusion?" Bunny asked.

"I'm trying!" she said. "It's a lot stronger than I'm used to!"

"Okay, new plan," Jack said quietly. "When I say duck, jump."

"Why?" Bunny asked.

"I don't want them to know what we're actually going to do!" Jack hissed. "DUCK!"

The three jumped as Jack slammed his staff down, freezing the roof with a huge burst of power. Mirage was blown back against a wall, disrupting the illusion and allowing Bunny and Valentina to go for Gary.

"Should have known you'd go bad one of these days," Bunny snapped, kicking Gary across the roof.

"Goodnight, Groundhog!" Valentina said, shooting an arrow at him—only for it to be knocked off course by another arrow. "Oh no."

"Oh boy," Jack said, looking at the new arrival. "_Another_ one."

"Freeze him! Now!" Spooky said.

But the winged man was already in motion, and tackled Valentina clear off the roof.

"V!" Spooky yelled.

"Who was that?" Jack asked, still trying to hit Mirage.

"Eros, original Cupid…and V's dad," Spooky said.

"_What_?" Jack asked.

.o.o.o.

"Can your wisps get to Pitch?" North asked.

"No clue, they're kind of iffy about him. They can take the nightmares for now, though," Barney said. "Thank goodness for non-fully-sentient minions…"

A loud clatter came from the alley Tooth and vanished into, before the Monkey King flew into the open.

"Give up?" Tooth asked, flying in.

Pitch quickly reformed by the Monkey King, "Idiot, you said you could take her!"

"I think you're both a little over-confident today," Tooth said.

"What were you doing here?" North boomed.

"Well, that is for use to know," Pitch said. "And you to find out…" He started to vanish with the Monkey King, only for a burst of light to strike him in the shoulder.

"I think not!" a white haired woman in a ball gown said.

"Fey?" Coyote asked while North charged and yanked the Monkey King away from Pitch, who quickly took his leave.

"Fey, Fairy Godmother, Baba Yaga's sister, and emergency backup," the woman said, by way of introduction.

"Wow, Baba Yaga must have really been worried," Tooth said. "I mean, you two don't usually…"

"Yes, well, if it's for the greater good we can stop bickering like sisters, you know?" Fey asked, flicker her wand and binding the Monkey King. "So, where's my great niece?"

"Paris," Coyote said.

"Oh, that Cupid friend of hers should love that," Fey gushed.

.o.o.o.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Valentina growled.

"Regaining my place, Erato," Eros replied.

"It's Valentina, get with the times," Valentina replied. "And _get lost_. You had your turn and we all saw how that ended!"

"You know, I don't think I will," Eros said. "It's time for _you_ to learn your place, Erato, you naughty, position-stealing girl!"

"Then keep up!" Valentina said, launching herself skyward and shooting her father in the shoulder.

.o.o.o.

"Cupid's dad?" Jack asked.

"Long story, tell you later!" Spooky said, before teleporting behind Mirage and kicking her in the back. She teleported back as the woman turned around to retaliate, giving Jack an opening.

Bunny and Gary continued to tussle, insults flying back and forth.

"Gimmicky rabbit!"

"Not my fault you have no imagination, you overgrown rat!"

"Please, knowing when winter will end is way more important!"

"Not with our boy Jack around—he's overruled you a few times, am I right?" Bunny mocked. "Along with a _bunch_ of weathermen…"

"Shut it!" Gary snapped, before biting Bunny's arm. The Pooka hissed in pain before kicking Garry in the face.

.o.o.o.

"We need to get to Paris now!" Tooth complained. "Don't you have a portal for that?"

"No," North said. "Perhaps you should fly ahead?"

"Would probably make a sleigh a bit lighter if she and I both go," Coyote said before turning into a falcon.

"Come on!" Tooth said, and they flew out of sight.

"How much longer?" Fey asked, looking worried. "For all we know, Pitch went right to Paris! Oh, my tiara for a teleportation spell! How does Spooky do it…"

.o.o.o.

"This is actually working pretty well," Jack said.

"Would work better if you _kept_ her frozen—up high!" Spook said, grabbing him and teleporting them into the air. "Okay, the freaky illusions are giving me a headache!"

"Just hang on," Jack said, blasting Mirage before she could find them. "Whoa!" He swerved to avoid an arrow. "That better have been Cupid's dad's!"

"V wouldn't shoot at me," Spooky said confidently.

"What about me?" Jack complained.

"How should I know? It's not like I know _you_ that well," Spooky replied.

"Oh boy—hang on!" Jack said, flying lower and icing the ground at Gary's feet so Bunny could send him flying. "Kangaroo, here's an assistant! I'll take the illusion woman!"

"I'm assuming you think you're more useful here?" Bunny asked.

"Oh yeah," Spooky said. "Ready for some confusion fu?" Three illusions of Bunny appeared.

"All right, this will be interesting," Bunny admitted.

.o.o.o.

"You ungrateful little brat!" Eros snapped. "I'm the only reasons you are what you are!"

"Yeah, because someone had to get in your way when you went too far!" Valentina said, intercepting another one of his shots. "Your stupid lust arrows brought down the freaking Roman Empire!"

"And what have your little infatuations done? Nothing major, I'd wager," Eros replied.

"BS!" Valentina said. "Do you know the people I've gotten together? Will and Kate, Barack and Michelle, Phillip and Elizabeth, I even got Keith with Nicole! I do love, buddy, not your dumb lust!"

"Lust is much more powerful that your idiotic little _hints_," Eros replied.

"Please, look up 'rape culture' daddy dear, I believe that one's on you!" Valentina said.

Eros was slammed back at Tooth rammed into him at full speed. "Jeez, Manny's still keeping him around?"

"Well, technically I don't do lust," Valentina said. "And so many people want someone to blame for it…"

"Why you—ow!" Eros yelped as Coyote started pecking him in the head. "Get off me you—arg!" He drew a dagger and got Coyote in the chest.

"Coyote!" Valentina yelled, diving for him.

"Get back here!" Tooth yelled as Eros swooped down and grabbed Mirage, shooting Jack in the shoulder as he went.

"Gary, I think you have a problem," Bunny said, knocking the groundhog out. "Jack, you all right?"

"Yeah, just a little pain," Jack said.

"Oh thank goodness, normal arrow," Valentina said. "That could have gotten awkward…"

"This is surreal," Tooth said. "Both fights end with one of their guys caught and the rest escaping…"

"Something's up," Coyote said. "What I want to know is _what_."

.o.o.o.

"You'll be okay, right?" Jack asked Coyote as the sleigh took off.

"Fine, kid, fine," the man chuckled. "Be ready to enjoy your snow days when they come around, I'll tell you that!"

"Coyote's hard to keep down," Bunny said. "How's your shoulder?"

"Hurts a little, but it should be fine," Jack said. "I'm more worried about the hole in my hoodie…"

"Oh, let me fix that," Fey said, tapping it with her wand. "Spooky, dear, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a bit surprised that Babushka would call you, is all," Spooky said. "You guys haven't talked in like seven decades now."

"Sweetie, this is important," Fey said. "And no matter my differences with my…less social sister, we both want what's right."

"Sorry, I still remember that fight you two had," Valentina said. "All the flying cookware…yeesh."

"I said you could come hide in my room with me," Spooky said. "Oh, hey Forty-two!"

"Ye know, he has a name," Barney huffed as she cuddled the wisp.

"Yeah, but 'Saol' means life, which means forty-two," Spooky said.

"You're spoiling him!" Barney complained. "Ye don't need to coddle him like—Saol, get over here, back with the rest, we might need ye!"

"So, what do we know?" North asked.

"…Your toy bags can also be used to trap prisoners, not just kidnap allies?" Jack asked. Bunny bopped him on the head.

"That they've got something planned," Coyote huffed, keeping pressure on his chest. "And that the Sandman's flying at us."

"I could _see_ the second one," North said. "Sandy, what is it?"

Sandy began to show a series of images.

"Pitch?" Jack guessed at the first, getting a nod.

"Eating, no fork! Fork! Wait, no," Tooth said.

"Pitch and a corner?" Bunny said. "No, a perpendicular angle?"

"Or—the four corners! That one spot, you know, Coyote, the one I made you take my picture at!" Spooky said.

Sandy nodded, looking worried.

"Well, if it's worrying the Sandman, we'd best hurry!" Fey said.

"Yeah, best," Coyote said. "Now what would that guy want at the Four Corners…"

.o.o.o.

A/N: The mystery thickens...and Bunny is glad he doesn't have to feel like a babysitter anymore. What will happen at the Four Corners? Stay tuned!


	5. The Separatists

A/N: Here it is! The secret of the Four Corners! A big battle! Jack defending his right to call Bunny a Kangaroo!

.o.o.o.

Chapter 5: The Separatists

.o.o.o.

"Well, Coyote, you're the American expert," Bunny said. "Four Corners have any significance?"

"It's the only spot in the US where four states meet, hence the name," Coyote said. "Barney, quit shoving everyone!"

"Then make her give back Saol!" Barney snapped, trying to reach over Jack to get to Spooky, who was still cuddling the happy wisp. "Saol! Ye are a mighty wisp, not her puppy!"

"Forty-two likes me better," Spooky teased.

"Do not make me pull over!" North warned as the sun came into view.

"Spooky, really, that behavior is most unbecoming of a young lady," Fey said. "And Barnaby, just let her have the wisp for now. You don't see the Tooth Fairy complaining that one of her helpers is in Jack's hoodie."

"Babytooth does what she pleases when Jack's around," Toothiana said. "As long as it doesn't interfere with work, I don't mind. Coyote, are there any you know…mystical things associated with the Four Corners?"

"Well, I don't usually go that south without a reason," Coyote replied, tugging Barney back in a one-armed headlock. "Haven't seen anything over-special on the mystical side, just some human monuments…Bunny, any of your tunnels round the joint find anything?"

"Been tunneling round there for ages, and nothing," Bunny said. "Other than that the tunnels were easy to dig, I've got nothing."

"Wasn't a lot of it on a plateau?" Spooky asked.

"Yes, so now that you mention it…Bunny, you have cave-ins?" Coyote asked.

"No," Bunny said stubbornly. "I make my tunnels too good for that to happen."

"But the soil's really dry, that's why I asked," Coyote said.

"So…you think Bunny had an easy time with the dry soil for a mystical reason?" Jack asked, scooting back as Barney escaped Coyote and made another grab for the wisp Spooky was currently telling ghost stories to.

"One sec," Coyote said, turning into his namesake, hopping off the seat, nosing his way between Jack and Barney, and returning to normal. "There we go. Canines are good that that. Now, Frost, as I was insinuating, yes. Sometimes are paces that lend to spirits or power..."

"You mean like Jack's lake?" Bunny asked. "Or your mountain?"

"Right," Coyote said. "They're harder to find in the Americas than in the older continents, though, so we can't be sure."

"We're almost there," North said. "Are the Monkey King and Groundhog secure?"

"Tied up and spelled shut," Fey said. "Valentina, dear, I do think those arrows are sharp enough."

"I'll tell you when they're sharp enough for my dad," Valentina said.

Sandman shook his head as a large plateau appeared ahead of them.

.o.o.o.

"This way," Spooky said. "I had Coyote take my picture here at the millennium."

"Lot of sand," Jack said, kicking some. "And not much water…"

"There's a river north of here," Coyote said. "But yeah, it's dry here unless we get a big winter storm."

Sandman's sand fanned out with Barney's wisps, searching the area. Sandy started making more symbols.

"Lines…lie, lay…ley? What's a ley?" Valentina asked.

"Ley lines are a sort of grid of power deep in a planet, connecting important places, or places of power," North said. "But I have never seen any proof of them actually connecting places."

"Because they're not connectors."

"Pitch," Jack snarled, pulling his staff out.

"And Mirage and my dad," Valentina said. "Whole team of bad guys—what is this, a sequel?"

"Think of it as a comeback," Eros said, noting an arrow at the same time as his daughter.

"Or as a trap," Mirage said as the Monkey King and Gary appeared next to her.

"Nice illusion, we know they're tired back up in the sleigh," Barney said. "Ye really think we'd fall for-"

The Monkey King tackled him away from the group.

"What?" Spooky said. "But Aunt Fey…no!" She lunged for Fey as the fairy flicked her wand, the 'mended' stiches on Jack' hoodie catching fire. "You lied to me!"

Jack quickly went to freeze over the flames, only for nothing to happen. Bunny grabbed his collar and yanked him down, tossing sand on the fire.

"No moisture in the air, remember?" the Pooka said. "That must be why they picked here…"

"That doesn't usually work on me, though! The place would have to be beyond dry!" Jack protested weakly with a flinch as the flames hit skin before Bunny got them smothered.

Valentina and Tooth went after Eros, Tooth's fairies making his arrows swerve and miss until Mirage threw the airspace into a massive haze.

Spooky tried to grab for Fey's wand, only for Gary to wrestle her away. Barney jumped him, the wisps going for the Fairy Godmother, but the Groundhog threw them both off and tunneled deep under the ground.

"No you don't!" Bunny snapped, going after him.

Coyote turned into a bear and charged Mirage, only to be knocked back by a blast of Pitch's sand. Sandy quickly started to fight back against Pitch with North looking for an opening, but then Sandy had to stop fighting Pitch to grab a falling Valentina, an arrow in one of her wings, and block a round of fire from Eros, giving Pitch a clear shot at North who only barely blocked it.

Jack was suddenly dropped underground as the Groundhog grabbed him. "HEY!"

"Back off Kangaroo, or the kid gets it," Gary warned. "His ice won't work here, we made sure of—ow!

Jack hit Gary again with his staff. "Only! I! Call! Him! Kangaroo! _Got it_?"

"I got him, go topside!" Bunny said, tackling the groundhog.

"Um, I think I'm more than a little useless in either place," Jack said, climbing back out of the hole. "Uh oh."

He hopped on the wind to dodge more black sand, quickly going to help Tooth with Eros so Sandy wouldn't have to worry about more arrows. He managed to get the crook of his staff around Eros' neck, only for the former Cupid to whip around and send Jack flying into Tooth.

Barney and his wisps continued going against Fey's magic, but it was a maddening and losing fight. Finally as Fey turned three wisp into mice Barney screamed in rage.

The whole plateau shook at the sound. Coyote clamped his hands over his ears, and just below the surface Bunny and Gary both went into shock, Bunny's ears bleeding slightly. The Monkey King started writhing and Spooky managed to move enough to hit him with a few rocks. Fey's glasses shattered.

Pitch and North recovered first, with the latter getting flung aside as Pitch snatched up Spooky with his sand. "I've been looking for you."

"What, want to apologize for inspiring torture porn? Not listening," Spooky said.

"You impudent little brat!" Pitch hissed, stabbing her with a black sand dagger and a smirk.

Spooky glanced at the cut. "Um, that's my _arm_. Not really going to do anything other than sting…"

"What?" Pitch muttered before North nearly took his head off and he was forced to move and drop her. Sandy hurried over and looked at the cut, before throwing Spooky a wide grin.

"Seriously why did he just cut my arm?" Spooky asked.

"You're a fear spirit too," Valentina said quietly, lining an arrow up with Pitch's chest. "I'd say the nightmare sand can't affect you like it would others. Get the arrow out of my wing, would you?"

"How could ye!" Barney bellowed at Fey. "What did me and mine ever do to ye! And Spooky, she looks up to ye!"

"I'm sorry you had to get involved, Barnaby, if you'd have stayed out of it things would have been fine for your little fireballs," Fey said.

"If ye were sorry ye wouldn't be tossing your magic at us!" Barney snapped, directing some wisp to form a ring of fire around her.

"Someone had to stand up once they noticed," Fey replied.

"Stand up for what? The right to betray kin? To betray the Moon itself?" Barney demanded.

"To be remembered as we once were!" Fey said, blasting Barney into the dust.

"No!" Spooky yelled, snatching up the removed arrow from Valentina's wing and charging Fey with it. "Leave him alone!"

"You should have been able to figure it out," Fey said. "You keep an eye on trends in belief. Think about it."

"You should have thought harder!" Spooky snapped, stabbing her in the shoulder to make her drop her wand. "You should have…should have…" she choked, only for Jack to tackle her out of the way of the Monkey King.

"Get the wand!" Spooky yelped. Jack lunged, only to get a foot to the chest and a tail around his neck.

"Let me tie them up!" Fey ordered the Monkey King.

"Or I could snap both their necks and they'd be healing for weeks!" the Monkey King argued.

Jack bit his tail and scrambled back. "So, this how you felt in Paris?"

"At least I punched the Groundhog," Spooky snapped.

"Oh, I already did that," Jack said, grabbing her. "Going up!"

"Pitch said something about their not being connectors, right?" Spooky asked. "Maybe they're what Santa said—lines of power somehow?"

"If Pitch tapped into one, it would explain how he got back on his feet so fast," Jack said. "Babytooth!"

The little fairy flew over to him. Jack nodded, "Okay, you and your sisters tell all the Guardians and our allies to get back. Spooky, teleport down to Bunny and get him to get the groundhog on open ground and then get clear. I've got an idea."

Spooky vanished and Babytooth flew off. Jack flew higher until he hit cold air.

"All right, wind, I'm going to need some extra help…" Jack said, waiting for the others to get clear.

.o.o.o.

Bunny got the message and chucked Gary into Pitch before grabbing Spooking and bolting towards the sleigh. Sandy tossed Fey back with golden whips, and Barney's wisps sent the Monkey King running. Tooth managed to knock Eros down and flit back towards the others, "Jack, now!"

"We told you there's nothing he can…uh oh," Gary said.

A tornado of hail smashed into Pitch's group.

"Wind always did like Frostbite," Bunny said.

"And it must be cold enough up there for him to make ice again," North said. "Well done Jack!"

"We're probably confusing a ton of weathermen right now," Spooky added. "Nice."

Sandy made an X above his head, pointing where Pitch's group was.

"They're gone?" Barney asked.

"They'd be smart to get lost, faced with that," Bunny said, shivering slightly. "Oi, Frosty, you can cut it out!"

The tornado slowed, allowing the group to see that Jack was spinning in the middle of it. The winter spirit stumbled when he landed, "Okay, need to sit…down…"

"Dizzy?" bunny asked.

"You have no idea, Kangaroo…but that was awesome…"

"So, they'll be back," Valentina noted.

"Yes," North said. "And we will have to be ready."

.o.o.o.

A/N: Yes, Fey is on the bad guy's side. And I always wondered what would happen if Jack mixed his powers with the wind itself...there's my idea!


	6. Research

A/N: some fact-finding is done, we get some backstories, and Baba Yaga yells in Russian. Sorry it's been awhile.

.o.o.o.

Chapter 6: Research

.o.o.o.

"We must figure out what they are after," North said. "Sandy, are you sure the Nightmare Sand is not affecting Spooky?"

"For the bazillionth time, I'm fine, just bleeding a bit," Spooky huffed as Sandy continued to inspect her cut. "I _like_ to be scared, you know. Spirit of Halloween, people?"

"Pitch definitely had interest in the kid, though," Bunny said. "Singled her out. You'd think of all people he'd be singling Jack."

"Or Sandy," Jack said.

"I don't understand why Fey would do this," Valentina said. "I mean…she's the _Fairy_ _Godmother_, for crying out loud!"

"Spooks, she said ye should have figured it out," Barney said, finally getting all his wisps back to normal. "Any ideas?"

"Babushka and Aunt Fey don't talk to each other much," Spooky said. "You know, they're like the good witch and the bad witch, only the second witch isn't really bad and the first witch is a fairy. But both of them have been pretty strong lately, babushka was in that Don Bluth film and has kind of become better-liked lately, and Aunt Fey has all those fairy tales…"

"Lot of kids today don't outright believe in fairy tales for long," Tooth said. "Especially wish-granting ones…"

"Oh no," Coyote said. "Spooky. Those movies, the fairy-tale-parody ones. The second one, remember? The fairy godmother was evil in it…"

"So it made her evil?" Jack asked. "That can't be how it works…"

"She might have been very offended, though," North said. "As would other fictional stories that twist the idea of a fairy godmother…"

"Offended enough to set Jack on fire?" Bunny demanded.

"That might be the issue," Tooth said. "With how Pitch got them, I mean. Jack, he tried to get to you because you weren't believed in…"

"So he went after people whose power was waning," Jack said. "Almost no one pays attention to the Groundhog anymore, especially with the climate getting all screwy, the Fairy Godmother isn't being thought of as possible or in ways she'd like…"

"The Monkey King is usually shown as an ineffective antagonist," Tooth added. "And, well, Eros wants his job back."

"And for all we know Mirage is mad about the phrase 'just a mirage' now can we please come up with a plan?" Barney asked. "They were using the leys, weren't they?"

"Yes, and Pitch seems to have indicated that they are somehow channels of power in the world…" Coyote said. "So perhaps they plan to use that to gain enough strength to gain belief again?"

"We shall consult my library," North said. "I have all the lost tomes of Atlantis and other such places there. Bunny, take Spooky and Barney to Baba Yaga to see what she knows, but you come back to the Pole. All right?"

.o.o.o.

"Ya ubʹyu yeye! Neschastnyy sestra, ty menya slyshishʹ? Ya ubʹyu tebya!"

"Uh, Spooks, what's she saying?" Barney asked as Baba Yaga continued to rant in progressively faster Russian, kitchenware flying about.

"She'll kill Fey, Fey is a wretched sister, can Fey hear her, she'll kill her," Spooky said flatly, digging through a bookshelf.

"Aye, that makes enough sense," Barney said. "So, ye find anything on leys yet?"

"What on earth do you need to know about leys for?" Baba Yaga huffed, smoothing down her skirt and storming over. "They're old things. Far before either of your times."

"What do they do?" Barney asked.

"Let me see…I have a book from when I was young," Baba Yaga said, nudging between the two to get to the shelf.

.o.o.o.

"Ah! Here, from before even I was a guardian!" North said. "It talks of the time of two and the natural magic of the world."

"Time of two?" Jack asked.

"Sandy and Pitch," Bunny said. "They were the first ones here."

Sandy nodded solemnly. Jack shuddered—what was it like for Sandy, only having someone like _Pitch_ for company?

"Now, let me see," North said. "Leys…ancient lines of power, placed beneath the Earth, by who or what not even Manny knows. They may even be natural. They drift towards places where humans have great belief, and could theoretically be tapped into for extra energy…"

"Not much of a theory now," Coyote growled.

.o.o.o.

"How old is that book?" Spooky asked.

"Older than I," Baba Yaga said. "Millennia ago Fey went West and I stayed home, each to hone our own skills. She as the wish-granter and I as, well, the child-mover and wise one. But I gathered much from other spirits and humans. This tome once belonged to Old Man Winter, who perished many hundred years ago."

"Do you think that's why Jack was chosen?" Spooky asked. "A new winter?"

"Perhaps," Baba Yaga said. "Were we all not once people of some form or other? And were we not needed?"

"Manny chose me after I was the only one still searching for a kid from my town," Barney said. "The second I had the wisps, I found him. It's why he gave me the scream too—even people who don't believe can hear it so they can find the kids I find."

"I got offed by fundamentalists in rural Eastern Europe because they thought I was a witch," Spooky said. "In their defense, it was the 1850s, stuff like that flew in less-developed places."

"Fey and I actually _were_ witches and we were not 'offed'," Baba Yaga said sternly.

"Babushka…if he picked Jack to replace Old Man Winter…could the moon have picked me to replace Pitch?" Spooky asked.

"How can ye even think that?" Barney said. "I mean, Spooks, ye are the nicest lass I know! And Pitch…urgh, he's not fit to walk this world at all."

.o.o.o.

"So there was a winter spirit before me?" Jack asked, confused.

"Yeah, not as active though," Bunny said. "Just pretty much set winter to start and end on time. Nothing _fun_."

Jack chuckled, "Oh good; I was afraid I wasn't special."

"Brat," Bunny said, ruffling his hair. "You're plenty special. Manny never would have offered ol' Winter a spot on this team."

"Thanks," Jack said. "Still, it's really interesting, seeing all the other spirits out there…even if some of them teamed up with Pitch."

"Yep. Always hoped Coyote would end up joining one of these days, but he's usually busy keeping his belief up and circulating new stories about heroic tricksters," Bunny said. "That Banshee kid might make a good addition though, if he's got time."

"We could get Sandy to take it up with Manny," Jack said.

.o.o.o.

"So, everyone was worried because the black sand _killed_ the Sandman?" Spooky asked, fingering the bandages on her arm.

"Correct," Baba Yaga said. "But you are a fellow fear spirit of Pitch's. It would be like someone trying to make Jack Frost freeze or Valentina get all googly-eyed over something. Is impossible because it is what you already are, like how you do not notice his nightmares."

"So, even though I'm next to useless for actual fighting…Pitch probabaly can't hurt me?" Spooky mused.

"Don't tempt fate, my little vnuchku," Baba Yaga warned. "There is more than one way to harm a spirit.

"Okay, so I've got the leys mapped out," Barney said. "We've got some major crossing points for 'em, too—one was under the Four Corners."

"So the convergence of power was enough to strengthen Pitch and his allies," Baba Yaga said. "Continue, Banshee."

"Well, I found some other major cross-points," Barney said. "We've got right near the Tooth Fairy's place, some spot in the middle of Florida, this big rock in Australia, and…I think this is in Denmark, but it might be in Germany…"

"Germany," Baba Yaga said, looking over it. "The Black Forest."

.o.o.o.

"Well, we know where to look," North said as the three other spirits reported in. "The only question is who shall go where?"

"Yeah…Florida in April…_no_," Jack said. "I'll go to the big rock with Bunny."

"Good, good," North said. "Tooth, naturally you can secure your own palace with…Barney! How about you go with her?"

"Fine," the banshee said. "Just make sure none of the little fairies go for the wisps. They're hot."

"I'll go to Florida," Spooky said. Sandy raised his hand, a picture of the state appearing over his head.

"Me too," Coyote said.

"We have team Florida," North said. "So, Valentina, that leaves you and I to investigate the Black Forest-"

"And me," Baba Yaga said. "Something is going on and if Pitch involves my vnuchku, he involves me."

"All right then," North said. "I shall prepare the globes!"

"So, Bunny, what's so important about the big rock?" Jack asked.

"It's called Uluru, and it's real important to the humans there," Bunny said. "_No ice graffiti_."

"Kangaroo, you wound me."

.o.o.o.

A/N: As you can see, Barney's not exactly a traditional Banshee. Next time: Hunts and Haunts,


End file.
